Lady Macbeth
“[Frances Dolan] observes “Macbeth uses female characters--the witches and Lady Macbeth--to instill ambition, translate that ambition into violent action, and thus cast doubt on ambition and agency as associated with violence”. Leah Marcus suggests that “Lady Macbeth is a ‘woman on top’ whose sexual ambivalence and dominance are allied with the demonic and mirror the obscure gender identifications of the bearded witches (1988, 104)” (“Fantasizing Infanticide”). Despite Macbeth himself being the namesake of the tragedy Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the one to drive the story forward. Her early domineering attitude effectuates her husband’s first murder, but it is her later culpability that drives her to her own demise. From a dauntless and vicious schemer to a crippled shell of fear, Lady Macbeth demonstrates the epitome of character development.
From the very beginning of the play, …show more content…
She very possibly sees Macbeth’s growing vengeance and thirst for power as a reflection of who she was, which terrifies her. This once fearlessly murderous woman, the same one who mocked her husband for feeling guilt, begins to wander at night, hysterical with guilt over Duncan’s murder (5.1.37-42) Living in constant fear of being discovered with blood on her hands, Lady Macbeth, the original instigator of the murder of Duncan (leading to that of Banquo, leading to that of Macduff’s family), extinguishes one final candle in her evolving madness by, presumably, taking her own life (5.2.69-72). The easy murder she planned so carefreely proved to be more than the murder of Duncan; it was the murder of more innocent people in Macbeth’s path, it was the murder of the good man Macbeth once was, and it was the murder of the one who plotted
“[Frances Dolan] observes “Macbeth uses female characters--the witches and Lady Macbeth--to instill ambition, translate that ambition into violent action, and thus cast doubt on ambition and agency as associated with violence”. Leah Marcus suggests that “Lady Macbeth is a ‘woman on top’ whose sexual ambivalence and dominance are allied with the demonic and mirror the obscure gender identifications of the bearded witches (1988, 104)” (“Fantasizing Infanticide”). Despite Macbeth himself being the namesake of the tragedy Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the one to drive the story forward. Her early domineering attitude effectuates her husband’s first murder, but it is her later culpability that drives her to her own demise. From a dauntless and vicious schemer to a crippled shell of fear, Lady Macbeth demonstrates the epitome of character development.
From the very beginning of the play, …show more content…
She very possibly sees Macbeth’s growing vengeance and thirst for power as a reflection of who she was, which terrifies her. This once fearlessly murderous woman, the same one who mocked her husband for feeling guilt, begins to wander at night, hysterical with guilt over Duncan’s murder (5.1.37-42) Living in constant fear of being discovered with blood on her hands, Lady Macbeth, the original instigator of the murder of Duncan (leading to that of Banquo, leading to that of Macduff’s family), extinguishes one final candle in her evolving madness by, presumably, taking her own life (5.2.69-72). The easy murder she planned so carefreely proved to be more than the murder of Duncan; it was the murder of more innocent people in Macbeth’s path, it was the murder of the good man Macbeth once was, and it was the murder of the one who plotted